Colts' debt registers above $1M

Bankruptcy lists assets up to $50,000

The San Angelo Colts Baseball Club LLC owes more than $1 million in debt, according to Chapter 11 bankruptcy court documents obtained Thursday by the Standard-Times.

The organization, which was looking to restructure its debt by filing for bankruptcy Tuesday, owes at least $1.2 million, according to a list of creditors holding the 20 largest unsecured claims. The court document also states there could be up to 49 creditors, and the estimated assets are up to $50,000.

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy was filed to prevent a foreclosure of the team’s stadium — Foster Field — where the Colts have played since 2000.

Majority owner John Bryant said the total debt remaining for the cost of the field is $382,545, which includes mortgage payments of $90,000 per year.

“The Colts have vastly more assets than debts, but the issue was cash flow,” Bryant said Wednesday. “So rather than risk losing the stadium, we filed a Chapter 11 petition to stop foreclosure and give the team time to make arrangements to pay the loan off.”

The biggest local debt collector is 1st Community Federal Credit Union, which is owed more than $465,000. The credit union declined to comment Thursday.

The familiar name on the list is Heath Brown, who is the current Colts general manager. He also declined to comment on the bankruptcy filing.

The Colts owe Angelo State University, which shares a commercial ground lease with the baseball organization, $3,949. The original 25-year pact, which states that the Colts rent the land but own Foster Field, is slated to end Sept. 30, 2024, according to the lease document.

According to the agreement, the Colts are responsible for an annual rental of $12,000 — broken down into $1,000 monthly payments expected to be paid to ASU. The payments have risen with the consumer price index.

Dave Kost, Colts general manager in 2013, said mortgage and ASU land lease payments were “just under $9,000 a month.”

He estimated the team needed to average about 1,800 home fans last season to break even. The Colts brought in an average of 1,083 fans a year ago.

This season the Colts are averaging 440 fans in 23 home games. There have been eight rainouts this season.

Kost said he was unable to provide other financial numbers from “not having a full-time office manager last year.”

“We didn’t have the money to pay for one,” said Kost, who works for a digital interactive media specialist in Utah. “This meant financial numbers, such as payable, receivables, payroll, payroll taxes and sales taxes, were incomplete.”

The San Angelo Colts Baseball Club LLC also filed for bankruptcy — then owned by United Sports Equities — in 2009.

Bradley Wendt, then the chief executive officer of United Sports Equities, filed for bankruptcy and Dallas businessmen Byron Pierce and Bryant purchased the franchise.

The Colts owed $24,350, according to court documents, with hotel chain Howard Johnson having the largest unsecured claim at $13,000 in the 2009 filing.

Inn of the Conchos, another local hotel, was on the list of creditors in the Colts 2014 bankruptcy claim. General manager Scott Zaruba said his hotel provided rooms for visiting teams, which were booked by the Colts. Court documents state the company is owed $13,797.

“I got burned by them once before because of the good ol’ West Texas attitude where a handshake means something,” Zaruba said. “I provided a service and trusted they would pay for them. ... Now, I guess I’ll be looking for cash up front.”

Karen Jackson, co-owner of Angelo Awards, was also under a handshake agreement with Colts general manager Heath Brown.

“They needed drinking cups for their season opener, and we worked for them to design cups to get a rush order for them,” said Jackson, whose company has been in the Concho Valley the last 30 years. “Normally we get paid up front on those orders, but he (Heath Brown) said he just never had the check book, or forgot it.”

Jackson said the cups were hand-delivered opening day, but that anyone from her office has not received a call since then from the Colts.

“It definitely puts a damper on us ever doing business with them again,” said Jackson, whose company is owed $1,424. “Even if he had given me a timeline, I would have been OK with it.”

The Colts have made good faith efforts to try and repay some of their debts.

Company Printing, which was owed $2,900, does not have any debts, a company official said.

“(The Colts organization) has been successful before and has run through some troubled times, which we readily admit,” Brown said. “We can rejuvenate everything, and I think some of the plans we’re putting in place for the balance of the year will be the starting point to that.”

Kost is unsure what the recent bankruptcy means for the future of the Colts franchise but is hopeful baseball continues to be played in San Angelo.

“These are sad and frustrating times for baseball in San Angelo. The community and fans have been loyal to the Colts organization for 15 years, and now their beloved baseball team is in jeopardy of not surviving,” Kost said.

“Current ownership just might be the worst in all of professional sports including major, minor and independent. Colts baseball still remains a viable entertainment option and affordable family entertainment, but it appears they don’t have the right leadership at all levels.”

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